RECAPS
Baseball
■ Cottage Grove started its season 2-0-1 last week, beginning with a 6-6 tie with Harrisburg on Tuesday. Nolan Spear had two runs and four walks. He also allowed one hit and five strikeouts. Micah Spear had one run and two hits. In their doubleheader win against Klamath Union, the Lions gathered 10 runs overall, with pitcher Elijah Cushman striking out seven.
■ Creswell went 1-1 in its first week, losing to Marist Catholic 14-1 and then beating Douglas 10-5. The Spartans recorded 14 runs and 10 hits compared to the Bulldogs 4 runs and 1 hit. Against Douglas, Colton Hartman had seven strikeouts and the Bulldogs had 10 runs and 7 hits. Jaxon Pelham led the Bulldogs with three runs, two hits and two RBIs.
■ Pleasant Hill went 1-0 in week one, downing Mapleton / Siuslaw 1-0. Standout Alejandro Ziolkowski held the Billies’ defense by allowing up no hits and no runs over four innings. Landen Kelley had one run batted in.
■ Springfield went 1-1 by taking care of the North Salem Vikings 17-2 last Tuesday but then lost to the Silverton Foxes 29-0 on Monday. Against the Vikings, Clay Rhoades, Timothy James, Jack Sperry, Darius Bullock, and Dylan Leas recorded two hits each. Leas also led pitching where he struck out six players. However, the Millers fell to the Foxes when the formidable Silverton pitcher Ryne Hockman struck out 14 and allowed no hits or runs.
■ Thurston went 2-0 this week after starting with a 5-2 win against Millennium at the Coach Bob Invitational in Arizona. Brock Johnson recorded three hits. Collin Hernandez allowed two hits and two runs over three innings with two strikeouts.
Softball
■ Cottage Grove went 0-1 last week, falling to the Harrisburg Eagles 18-11. The Lions recorded 10 hits overall. Makya Alsup and Shae Richardson each tallied two hits, while Kylee Cordin, Annie Basting, and Richardson recorded two runs, including Richardson stealing two bases. However, Harrisburg scored six runs on one hit in the top of the seventh inning and won the game.
■ Creswell went 1-1 last week, falling to Marist Catholic 6-19 and then beating Siuslaw 11-1. The Spartans recorded 17 hits against the Bulldogs. Savannah Rook led the Bulldogs with three runs and two hits. Elise Thackara allowed 11 runs and two strikeouts while pitching.
■ Springfield opened up its season with an 18-16 win against North Salem on Tuesday. The Millers then went 2-2 at the North Eugene Tournament this week. The Millers went 2-1 at its spring break tournament last season.
■ Thurston opened its season with a 19-18 win against Caledra last Tuesday. Colt Daphnie Heckel earned the win by driving in five runs on two hits. In addition, she hit a home run to center field in the first inning, scoring three runs, with a triple in the fifth inning. The Colts have gone 2-0 at the North Medford Tournament this week.
Track and Field
■ Cottage Grove competed at its first meet at the Siuslaw Icebreaker this past Thursday. The girls earned second and the boys team took third overall. Abbi Hemenway earned first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.9 seconds. Brielle Engle took second in the 200-meter dash. Carter Bengtson placed third in the 1500-meter run with at 4.21 minutes.
■ Pleasant Hill boys and girls took fourth at the Elmira Relays last week. The boys 4×200 meter relay team of Marcus Martinez, James Hoopman, Aidan Navarro, and Andrew Taylor won first for the Billies with a time of 1:42. On the girls side, the 4×200 relay team of Soleis Jones, Josie Heacock, Isabel Hammond-Mendez, and Ellie Thebo came in first at 1:55.
■ Several area teams competed at the Harvey Lewellen Throws Invitational, Cottage Grove girls and boys took second place in the team competition. Lions discus team of Clayton Dewitt, Rogelio Soto-Cruz, and Justyn Brown combined marks to take first place in the discus with Dewitt also winning the individual discus title. Makya Alsup was also an individual champ in the javelin. Thurston boys placed third and the girls were fifth. Creswell boys took fourth and the girls shared third with Amity. Springfield girls won first place and the boys team took fifth. Springfield’s Sailor Hall took an individual title in the discus and shot put. Thurston’s Kylan Gray won a title in shotput for the boys.
PREVIEWS
Baseball
#4 COTTAGE GROVE (2-0-1)
■ Leading off: The Lions close out their spring break tournament – the White Buffalo Spring Break Classic – in Madras this week against Culver today. The Bulldogs, a 2A school, have gone 23-7 in the last year.
#19 CRESWELL (1-1)
■ Leading off: The Bulldogs end the Creswell Showcase tournament today against 1A North Douglas / Elkton. The team went 22-6 last year. Despite its lower classification, top returners Deacon Edwards, Matthew Jenkins, and Colton Hartman shouldn’t doubt their potential.
#6 PLEASANT HIL (1-0)
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill’s spring break tournament is in Medford as the Billies travel to the Challenger Classic. The Billies open the tournament against preseason No.28 Banks (1-1) with Alejandro Ziolkowski and Kaden Fisher on the mound.
#17 SPRINGFIELD (1-1)
■ Leading off: The Millers are at Corvallis on Tuesday. The Spartans went 13-14 last year at No. 13. This will be a test for new head coach Kyle Casperson as he attempts to get the Millers to a winning season after a 1-26 record in ’24.
#5 THURSTON (1-0)
■ Leading off: The Colts begin to close out the Coach Bob Invitational in Arizona this week with games against New Trier (Ill.) and Canyon View (Ariz.) today and Friday. Coach Dennis Minium said he wants his team to “settle into their roles” in Arizona the way they have the past two seasons.
Softball
#19 COTTAGE GROVE (0-1)
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove has the Hidden Valley Tournament Thursday-Saturday with games against Phoenix, North Valley and Hidden Valley / New Hope Christian. Hidden Valley is the preseason No. 3 team in Class 4A with a 4-0 record thus far. Pitcher Emily Pacheco will be put to the challenge with this game.
#12 CRESWELL (1-1)
■ Leading off: The Bulldogs travel to Cottage Grove to face the Lions on Tuesday. Creswell went 0-1 against the 4A school last preseason. This will be a test for star pitcher Elise Thackara.
PLEASANT HILL (0-0)
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill opens its season against preseason No. 31 Valley Catholic (0-1) on Wednesday. Last season the Valiants went 15-6 at No.11. The Billies will need to watch out for this preseason foe.
#18 SPRINGFIELD (2-2)
■ Leading off: The Millers travel up the pass to face off Mountain View in a doubleheader on Saturday. Last season, The Millers went 1-1 in its doubleheader with the Cougars. The Cougars have started its preseason 0-1 at No. 13.
#1 THURSTON (3-0)
■ Leading off: The Colts head to West Albany where they’ll face the Bulldogs. The Colts have gone 0-2 against the Bulldogs in the past two seasons. If they want to get a win, Kasey Ogan will need to lead defensively and offensively like she did last game.
